Nelson's Lady Hamilton (24 page)

" Given on board the Foudroyant> Naples Bay, 29 June, 1799.

"NELSON"

Such was the stern but most justly deserved sentence. A good deal has been made of what is called Nelson's vindictive haste in causing

Caracciolo to be sentenced and executed on the same day. But it must be remembered that in time of war things are hastier and harsher than in time of peace—and it was dangerous to dally with traitors. It was not merely the sentence, but its swiftness, that struck terror, and deterred others from following in Caracciolo's footsteps. And Nelson had been brought up in the school of Earl St. Vincent, who would hang mutineers on a Sunday morning if they were sentenced on Saturday night.

During all this tragic business Emma Hamilton was shut up in her cabin in the Foudroyant —her steady nerve and her warm heart alike somewhat shaken by the downfall of the man she had known in the happier days of the Neapolitan Court. On the day of the execution she wrote three letters to Maria Carolina, which must have expressed, instead of the unnatural exultation with which she has been credited, grief and distress of mind, for the Queen in her reply speaks of the " sad and well-merited end of the unhappy and demented Caracciolo. I can truly sympathize with your excellent heart in all its sufferings, and that increases my gratitude." Yet it is in this very matter that Emma has been accused of conduct that would be a disgrace to the name of womanhood. Writer after writer, copying calumny from each other's pages, has declared that she was at Caracciolo's execution, delighting in the cruel

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spectacle, and that when he was still hanging from the Minerva's yard-arm she actually said to Nelson, " Come, Bronte, let us take the barge and have another look at poor Caracciolo!"

Such stones are wicked inventions, and bear in themselves the evidence of their untruth. Even putting aside the fact that they are utterly out of character, Emma could not have been at the execution in the Minerva, for at the very time that the signal gun announced the end of the Neapolitan admiral, Lord Northwick was dining with Nelson and Sir William and Lady Hamilton on board the Foudroyant. The story about having "another look" is obviously maliciously made up by some one imperfectly conversant with the most obvious facts : Emma could not—unless gifted with prophetic foresight—address as " Bronte " a man upon whom the title was not then bestowed. These "artists in calumny," as Mr. J. C. Jeaffreson calls them, should be a little more careful of the groundwork of their ugly stories.

Soon after the execution of Caracciolo the King came back to Naples, and was received with acclamations and salutes—the Bourbon monarchy was restored again. But not trusting overmuch to the attachment of his loyal subjects, Ferdinand took up his quarters in the Foudroyant. For reasons of state, and for smaller reasons of pique and vexation, the Queen was left at Palermo—at this time she was unpopular both with her people

and with her husband. Writing to Lady Hamilton just before the King left Palermo, she says—

" I shall remain behind in great sadness, praying to heaven that all may end gloriously and for the best; but I am deeply affected, and am counting on what must justly take place. It is at this moment especially, my dear lady, that I rely on your friendship to write to me about everything, for all my correspondents, seeing my insignificance and dreading to compromise themselves, are sure to be silent. But I hope my good friend Emma will not forget me, though I am relegated to Palermo. This is going to be an epoch in my life; do not believe that I did not wish to come for any reason or through caprice. I have been obliged to do so on many grounds—besides which no one wanted me."

We may be sure that Emma responded generously, not to say extravagantly, to the Queen's declaration of trust and affection. It was a great part she was playing, and she was conscious of it every moment. Sir William himself was far from blind to the political importance of his wife's friendship with the Queen, and from the Foudroyant on the I4th of July he wrote to Lord Grenville, enclosing a packet of Maria Carolina's letters, and saying—

"As Lady Hamilton was very particularly requested by the Queen of Naples to accompany me and Lord Nelson on this expedition,

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and was charged by her Majesty with many important commissions at Naples, and to keep up a regular daily correspondence with her Majesty, I have found the enclosed queen's letters to Lady Hamilton so very interesting, doing so much honour to the queen's understanding and heart, and throwing such clear light on the present situation of affairs at Naples, that I have prevailed on my wife to allow me to entrust to your Lordship the most interesting of her Majesty's letters, but not without a solemn promise from me that they should be restored to her by your Lordship on our arrival in England."

In a letter of the same date to his nephew, Charles Greville, Sir William speaks of the idea that they may soon come home—

" Probably some ships will soon be sent home from Palermo, and Emma and I shall profit of one. Every captain wishes to serv< us, and no one are, I believe, more popular ii the navy at this moment than Emma and I. It will be a heartbreaking to the Queen oi Naples when we go; she has really no female friend but her, and Emma has been of infinit< use in our late very critical business. Lor< Nelson and I could not have done without her, all of which shall be explained when we meet. You cannot conceive the joy of Naples on seeini me arrive again, and we have had the glory oi

'SENSIBILITY'

GEORGE KOMNEY

stepping between the king and his subjects, to the utility of both. In short, the king's fleet and a little good management and temper has placed their Sicilian Majesties once more on their throne of Naples."

As he read this letter the Honourable Charles Greville must have reflected somewhat curiously on the progress of the " fair tea-maker of Edgware Row."

She herself was much elated at her part in events, and a few days later wrote him one of her long epistles, which still shows the old childish pleasure at her own importance—it needed more than war, bombardments, executions, endless exertions, and mental unrest to take the freshness and the zest out of Emma Hamilton! She tells Greville, " Everything goes on well here. We have got Naples, all the Forts; and to-night our troops go to Capua. His Majesty is with us on board, were he holds his Councils and Levees every day. . . . The King has bought his experience most dearly, but at last he knows his friends from his enemies, and allso knows the defects of his former government, and is determined to remedy them. For he has great good sense, and his misfortunes have made him steady and look into himself. The Queen is not yet come. She sent me as her Deputy; for I am very popular, speak the Neapolitan language, and considered, with Sir William, the friend of

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the people. The Queen is waiting at Palermo, and she has determined, as there has been a great outcry against her, not to risk coming with the King/'

Then she goes on to inform Greville how active she had been on the Queen's behalf, though she had been on shore but once, when she went to St. Elmo " to see the effect of the bombs! I saw at a distance our despoiled house in town, and Villa Emma, that have been plundered. Sir William's new appartment,—a bomb burst in it! But it made me so low-spirited, I don't desire to go again." She describes all she did before the King's arrival: " I had privily seen all the Loyal party, and having the head of the Lazzaronys an old friend, he came in the night of our arrival, and told me he had 90 thousand Lazeronis ready, at the holding up of his finger, but only twenty with arms. Lord Nelson, to whom I enterpreted, got a large supply of arms for the rest, and they were deposited with this man. ... I have thro' him made 'the Queen's party/ and the people have prayed for her to come back, and she is now very popular. I send her every night a messenger to Palermo, with all the news and letters, and she gives me the orders the same. I have given audiences to those of her party, and settled matters between the nobility and Her Majesty. She is not to see on her arrival any

of her former evil counsellors, nor the women of fashion, alltho' Ladys of the Bedchamber, formerly her friends and companions, who did her dishonour by their desolute life. All, all is changed. She has been very ^mfortunate; but she is a good woman, and has sense enough to profit by her past unhappiness, and will make for the future amende honorable for the past. In short, if I can judge, it may turn out fortunate that the Neapolitans have had a dose of Republicanism. But what a glory to our good King, to our Country, that we —our brave fleet, our great Nelson—have had the happiness of restoring the King to his throne, to the Neapolitans their much-loved King, and been the instrument of giving a future good and just government to the Neapolitans ! . . . We shall, as soon as the government is fixed, return to Palermo, and bring back the Royal family; for I foresee not any permanent government till that event takes place. Nor wou'd it be politick, after all the hospitality the King and Queen received at Palermo, to carry them off in a hurry. So you see there is great management required." Then she declares, " I am quite worn out. For I am interpreter to Lord Nelson, the King and Queen ; and altogether feil quite shattered; but as things go well, that keeps me up." She says that Nelson is wonderful, "he is here and there and everywhere. I never saw such zeal and activity in any

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one as in this wonderful man. My dearest Sir William, thank God, is well and of the greatest use now to the King. We hope Capua will fall in a few days, and then we will be able to return to Palermo. On Sunday last we had prayers on board. The King assisted, and was much pleased with the order, decency, and good behaviour of the men, the officers, etc."

The officers and men of the Foudroyant were themselves " much pleased " at having the beautiful Lady Hamilton on board. Lieutenant Parsons, who was Nelson's signal-midshipman at this time, records jin his "Reminiscences" that " She was much liked by every one in the fleet, except Captain Nesbit, Lady Nelson's son; and her recommendation was the sure road to promotion. The fascination of her elegant manners was irresistible, and her voice most melodious. Bending her graceful form over her superb harp, on the Foudroyanfs quarterdeck each day after dinner, in Naples' Bay, she sang the praises of Nelson, at which the hero blushed like a fair maiden listening to the first compliment paid to her beauty."

Emma's grace and ardour may be believed, but we have doubts about Nelson's blushes ! Lieutenant Parsons was much affected by the stilted sentimentality of his time, and can hardly refer to a woman without calling her " a virtuous and lovely female," or " one of the fair sex," or

some other roundabout and hackneyed expression. But he had also a sense of humour, and gives a very delicious little dialogue between Lady Hamilton and a seaman of the Foudroyant. "The men," he says, "when threatened with punishment for misconduct, applied to Lady Hamilton, and her kindness of disposition, and Lord Nelson's known aversion to flogging, generally rendered the appeal successful. As an instance of which, one of his bargemen addressed her, in my hearing—

"' Please your ladyship's honour, I have got into a bit of a scrawl.'

" '• What is the nature of it ?' said she, with great affability.

"' Why, you see, your ladyship's honour, I am reported drunk when on duty yesterday, to the captain, and he will touch me up unless your ladyship's honour interferes. I was not as sober as a judge, because, as why, I was freshish; but I was not drunk.'

"' A nice distinction ! Let me know what you had drunk.'

"' Why, you see, my lady, I was sent ashore after the dinner-grog ; and who should I see, on landing, but Tom Mason, from the Lion; and Tom says to me, says he, "Jack, let us board this here wine-shop ;" so after we had drunk a jug, and was making sail for the barge, as steady as an old pump-bolt, in comes Ned, funny Ned—

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your ladyship's honour recollects Ned, who dances the hornpipe before the king. " My eyes, Jack!" says he; "but we will have another jug, and I'll stand treat," says he ; so, you see, wishing to be agreeable like, I takes my share, and the boat waited for me. " You drunken rascal! " says Mr. St. Ives, the middy, to me, " but I'll report you." So I touches my hat, quite genteel like, which shows I was not drunk, and pulls on board without catching crabs ; and if your ladyship's honour will tell the admiral that I pulled on board without catching crabs, he will see with half an eye that I only shook a cloth in the wind.*

" ' Your name,' said ' Fair Emma/ taking out her tablets.

" * Jack Jones ; and God bless that handsome face, for it is the sailor's friend.'

" And Jack, hitching up his trousers, gave a scrape with his foot, and bounded off with a light heart, well knowing the powerful influence he had moved in his favour. 1 '

No wonder the many-sided Emma was always in demand during the weeks she spent on board the Foudroyant I She was never at a loss, never anything but kind and willing, whether it were to intercede for a seaman in danger of the lash, to interpret for the British Ambassador, to amuse the King—though in a little outburst to Greville she says, " We have had the King on board a month, and I have never been able to go once on shore.